Swiss Spectacular, Part 8: Tour hello is a Gotthard Goodbye

LUGANO, Switzerland — You know that feeling when you take friends for the first time to a favorite restaurant or some other place that’s really special to you — and they love it as much as you do?

That was the feeling I had today after the first full day of the Trains/Special Interest Tours Majestic Switzerland tour.

Thursday night, we gathered as a group for the first time in Zurich — 19 guests, guides Rose and Swen, and yours truly, in a role that doesn’t really have a title but I think of as “Trains host.” Today, we took the train to Lucerne, and the boat across Lake Lucerne to Flüelen, where we caught the Gotthard Panorama Express for the trip to Lugano, here in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. I feel a certain affinity for Gotthard Pass, dating to my first trip to Switzerland in 2016 as part of a Swiss Tourism media tour tied to the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, and certainly based on the amount of time I have spent there on this trip. That includes a couple of rides up and down the hill on the regular Treno Gottardino service, as well as my earlier ride on the Panorama Express [see “Swiss Spectacular, Part 2 …,” Trains.com, Sept. 7, 2023].

I was pretty confident the railfans would love the open-window photo coach — and they did. As was the case for me when I rode a week ago, many of them went into that car shortly after their tickets were checked, and spent most of the trip there. (I was there a little less today, trying to give the others their window time.) The weather mostly cooperated — it was sunny or partly sunny most of the way, with a little drizzle when we first broke out of the tunnel on the Ticino side of the pass. Not bad at all for standing at a window taking pictures.

The non-railfans were wowed by the scenery (sometimes literally — I heard that word repeatedly as we made our way through the Alps). And I felt like I was able add at least a little to the group’s experience with information I’ve picked up on this trip and others, about subjects like the construction of the original Gotthard Tunnel; details on the Gotthard Base Tunnel; and the accident in the Base Tunnel that is rerouting so much traffic over the panoramic route.

Also, to my delight, Jacqueline, who had been the car host when I took my individual ride, was also the host for our group’s car today. We quickly renewed acquaintances and she once again proved to provide both a wealth of knowledge and good humor in enhancing our ride — and made me feel like an old friend based on our one prior meeting.

All in all, I enjoyed the Panorama Express at least as much today as I had the first time around — maybe more, based on all the smiles and positive comments I saw and heard from the group.

This was my last look at Gotthard Pass on this trip, after three trips across the pass, one additional round trip to the summit, and two nights in Goschenen. It’s a fantastic place, and it’s been great to experience it during its revival as a heavily-used main line. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I think it will always be worth a visit, no matter the volume of traffic.

Tomorrow, our tour of Switzerland briefly crosses into Italy, as we ride the Bernina Express from Tirano, Italy, to St. Moritz, then continue on to Chur.

— The Majestic Switzerland Tour is also being offered in 2024. More on that here; more on other Special Interest Tours offerings here.